A Lid and a Storage System

ABSTRACT

A lid for a container is adapted to be fitted on the top of a container and has a generally rectangular shape with two pairs of opposing and parallel edges, defining four corners and extending at least partly in a main plane in between the edges. In the vicinity of each of the four corners, the lid comprises at least a first and a second corner support, wherein the first corner support comprises two support surfaces rising a first step from the main plane, and where the second corner support comprises two support surfaces rising an additional second step from the main plane. The distance between the second corner supports of two diagonally opposing corners is greater than the distance between the first corner supports of said diagonally opposing corners. Thereby the lid can prevent containers with different bottom surface sizes from slipping sideways when stacked on top of the lid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a nationalization of PCT ApplicationInternational Application No. PCT/EP2015/060450, International FilingDate 12 May 2015, which claims priority to European Patent ApplicationNo. EP14168246.8, filed 14 May 2014, both of which are incorporatedherein by reference for all purposes.

The following co-pending and co-assigned applications contain relatedinformation:

U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No.______ (Attorney DocketNo. 017345.000258) for Storage System, filed concurrently herewith; and

U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No.______

(Attorney Docket No. 017345.000257) for Container, filed concurrentlyherewith.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to storage systems, and inparticular to modular storage systems including drawer frames andcontainers.

BACKGROUND

Lids and containers may be produced by injection molding in a plasticmaterial and are well known for the use of storing various objects. Thecontainer may be suspended in a drawer frame. Containers with fittedlids may also be stacked as a storage system to store more items for agiven floor surface area. One general problem with such storage systemsis to improve the stacking functionality.

SUMMARY

One object of the present disclosure is therefore to obtain a lid or astorage system with improved stacking properties. This object isachieved by a lid having, in the vicinity of each of four corners, atleast a first and a second corner support. The first corner supportcomprises two support surfaces rising a first step from the main plane,and the second corner support comprises two support surfaces rising anadditional second step from the main plane. The distance between thesecond corner supports of two diagonally opposing corners is greaterthan the distance between the first corner supports of said diagonallyopposing corners.

This means that containers with two different bottom surface sizes canbe placed on top of the lid and can be prevented from slipping in thedirection of the main plane. Thereby the stacking functionality isimproved.

When used in a system with at least two containers having differentbottom surface sizes, the distance between the first corner supports oftwo diagonally opposing corners of the lid corresponds to the diagonaldistance between two corners in the bottom surface of a first container,and the distance between the second corner supports of two diagonallyopposing corners corresponds to the diagonal distance between twocorners in the bottom surface of a second container.

The lid and/or the container may be made by injection molding a plasticmaterial such as polypropylene, PP.

It is possible to provide each corner of the lid with a third cornersupport, which includes two support surfaces rising an additional thirdstep from the main surface of the lid. This allows a container with athird bottom surface size to be stacked on the lid in the same way.

Each corner support's surfaces may be joined into a corner.

A surface, elevated from the main plane, may be defined between thesupport surfaces of the first and second corner supports. This surfacemay carry a stacked container of a type with a larger bottom surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a lid.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged portion of the lid in FIG. 1, at a cornerthereof.

FIG. 3 shows a stack of three containers.

FIGS. 4-7 show enlarged portions of the stack in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is related to modular storage systems includingdrawer frames and containers. Such systems have the benefit, e.g. ascompared with a traditional chests of drawers, of being configurable invarious ways to address the needs of an end user. Drawer frames withmetal wire and mesh baskets have been widely appreciated by users thathave been able to select wire and mesh baskets with different sizesaccording to their needs.

From a producer point of view, the components involved have allowed forefficient distribution as empty containers can be nested inside otherempty containers and since drawer frames can easily be assembled by theend user. This of course reduces the cost of the final system.

It is suggested to include plastic containers with lids in storagesystems of this kind as a complement to wire and mesh containers. Thiswould make storage systems of this kind even more versatile.

Plastic containers are relatively inexpensive to produce in large seriesby injection molding. Unlike a mesh or wire container, a plasticcontainer may be made diffusion tight, and when lids are attached to thecontainers, the they become stackable, such that a number of containers,with items stored inside, can be stored on a small floor surface. If thestorage system is used for instance in a closet, this allows the usere.g. to switch the contents of the closet from season to season.

For instance, during off-season, winter clothes may be stored at anotherlocation and, thanks to the more or less diffusion tight properties ofthe containers, are protected from moisture, etc. When the clothes areneeded again, these containers may replace others in the drawer frame.Such a procedure is much more efficient than moving clothes from adrawer to another box, back and forth. The present disclosure providessolutions that make a plastic container more suitable for a storagesystem of this kind, thereby contributing to accomplishing the goal ofobtaining a more efficient and versatile storage system.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a lid 1, which may be attached to acontainer. The container as well as the lid may be produced by injectionmolding a plastic material such as polypropylene, PP. As is seen in FIG.1, the lid has a rectangular shape with two pairs of opposing edges, anddefines four corners. The lid extends at least approximately in a mainplane in between the edges, i.e. its top surface may be more or lessflat, usually with the exception that features are provided at the edgesfor attaching the lid to a container. The lid 1 comprises sets 5 ofcorner supports as will now be described in greater detail. A set ofcorner supports is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2 illustrating anenlarged portion of the lid in FIG. 1 as well as in FIGS. 4 and 5illustrating perspective views of a set of corner supports.

The set includes two corner supports 7, 9 where each support has twosupport surfaces that rise from the main plane of the lid. Thus, thefirst corner 7 support comprises a first 11 and a second 13 supportsurface that rise a first step, e.g. about 7 mm, from the main plane ofthe lid. As shown, they may be mutually perpendicular to be able tosupport a container stacked on the lid on either side of a corner. Thefirst surface 11 is about parallel with the adjacent long edge of thelid and the second surface 13 is about parallel with the adjacent shortedge of the lid. The corner support is thus formed in one piece with theremainder of the lid as a bulge, and the thickness of the lid goods maybe uniform over the main plane thereof, also including the supports.

The surfaces may as illustrated adjoin each other and form a corner 15.However, this is by no means necessary. The corner support may presenttwo surfaces that are capable of abutting against the side walls and/orbottom surface edges of a container at either side of the container'sbottom surface corner, when that container is stacked on the lid, and asthe skilled person realizes this can be achieved in other ways than theone illustrated. For instance, it would be possible to let twocylindrical portions rise from the main plane of the lid, one at eachside of the container corner. The side walls on each side of the cornercould then abut against the periphery of each cylinder.

As illustrated, the lid is further provided with a second corner support9 including two support surfaces 17, 19 which rise an additional secondstep, e.g. about 7 mm, from the main plane. This corner support 9 islocated closer to the corner of the lid as compared to the first cornersupport. The support surfaces 17, 19 of the second corner support 9 mayotherwise be arranged in a similar way as the corresponding surfaces 11,13 of the first corner support 7. As shown, by the first corner support7 rising a first step from the main plane of the lid and the secondcorner support 9 rising an additional second step a stair-shaped formmay be achieved, and a box supported laterally by the second cornersupport 9 may rest on a surface 18, a step, elevated from the mainplane, between the support surfaces of the first and second cornersupports 7, 9. This surface 18 may be substantially parallel with themain plane of the lid.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the distance d2 between the second cornersupports of two diagonally opposing corners is greater than the distanced1 between the first corner supports of said diagonally opposingcorners. This means that the lid is adapted to allow containers withdifferent bottom surface sizes to be stacked on top of the lid and mayprevent these containers from slipping, either in a specific directionalong the plane of the lid or rotatingly around an axis perpendicular tothe lid.

The bottom surface of a container is conveniently made smaller than theopen top of the container and with inclined walls to allow containers tobe nested. Stacking of containers with lids enabled more items to bestored for e.g. a given floor area.

FIG. 3 shows a stack of three containers, each having a lid. Theidentical top and bottom containers 21, 23 are larger, more specificallytaller, than the container 25 in the middle of the stack. The wallsrising from the bottom of each container have about the same outwardinclination, and the containers have about the same dimensions at theopen top, such that identical lids can be fitted on each container.Consequently, the middle container 25 will have a larger bottom areathan the other containers. In an enlarged view, FIG. 6 shows a firstcorner support which prevents a taller container with a smaller bottomsurface from slipping sideways. FIG. 7 illustrates a second cornersupport which prevents a shorter container with a larger bottom surfacefrom slipping sideways. As shown, that container rests on a surface thatinterconnects the first and second corner support.

The present disclosure is not restricted to the above illustratedembodiment and may be varied and altered in different ways within thescope of the appended claims. For instance, equally tall containers withmutually different wall inclinations will have different bottom portiondimensions. Also, the side walls may be curved or may have step-wiseincreasing dimensions from the bottom portion towards the upper opening.Further, even if the main plane of the lid is illustrated as flat thisis not necessary. The main plane may have surface structures ofdifferent kinds and may e.g. be dented inwards in various ways that doesnot affect a container being stacked thereon.

What is claimed is: 1.-6. (canceled)
 7. A lid adapted to fit on the topof a container to form a closed space, the lid having a generallyrectangular shape with two pairs of opposing and parallel edges definingfour lid corners and a surface extending at least partly in a main planebetween the edges, comprising: a first plurality of corner supports,each first corner support proximate a corresponding one of the lidcorners and including two support surfaces rising a first step from themain plane; a second plurality of corner supports, each second cornersupport proximate a corresponding on of the lid corners and includingtwo support surfaces rising an additional second step from the mainplane; and wherein a distance between the second corner supports of aselected pair of diagonally opposing lid corners is greater than adistance between the first corner supports of said selected pair ofdiagonally opposing lid corners.
 8. A lid according to claim 7, whereinthe lid is made by injection molding a plastic material.
 9. A lidaccording to claim 7, further comprising a third plurality of cornersupports, each third corner support proximate a corresponding one of thecorners and including two support surfaces rising an additional thirdstep from the main surface of the lid.
 10. A lid according to claim 7,wherein the two support surfaces of at least some of the first pluralityof corner supports are joined to form a corner.
 11. A lid according toclaim 7, wherein the two support surfaces of at least some of the secondplurality of corner supports are joined to form a corner.
 12. A lidaccording to claim 8, wherein the surface is aperture-free.
 13. Astorage system comprising: a first container having a substantiallyrectangular bottom surface defining a pair of diagonally opposing firstcontainer corners spaced by a first distance; a second container havinga substantially rectangular bottom surface defining a pair of diagonallyopposing second container corners spaced by a second distance greaterthan the first distance; and a lid adapted for attachment to a selectedone of the first and second containers and having a generallyrectangular shape with pairs of opposing parallel edges defining a pairof diagonally opposing lid corners and a main surface, including: afirst pair of corner supports, each of the first pair of corner supportsdisposed proximate a corresponding one of the pair of diagonallyopposing lid corners and having a support surface rising a first stepfrom the main surface, the support surfaces of the first pair of cornersupports spaced for receiving the pair of diagonally opposing firstcontainer corners; and a second pair of corner supports, each of thesecond pair of corner supports disposed proximate a corresponding one ofthe pair of diagonally opposing lid corners and having a support surfacerising an additional second step from the main surface, the supportsurfaces of the second pair of corner supports spaced for receiving thepair of diagonally opposing second container corners.
 14. The storagesystem of claim 13, wherein the bottom surface of the first containerdefines another pair of diagonally opposing first container cornersspaced by the first distance, the bottom surface of the second containerdefines another pair of diagonally opposing second container cornersspaced by the second distance, and the edges of the lid define anotherpair of diagonally opposing lid corners, and the lid further comprises:a third pair of corner supports, each of the third pair of cornersupports disposed proximate a corresponding one of the another pair ofdiagonally opposing lid corners and having a support surface rising bythe first step from the main surface, the support surfaces of the thirdpair of corner supports spaced for receiving the another pair ofdiagonally opposing first container corners; and a fourth pair of cornersupports, each of the fourth pair of corner supports disposed proximatea corresponding one of the another pair of diagonally opposing pair oflid corners and having a support surface rising the additional secondstep from the main surface, the support surfaces of the fourth pair ofcorner supports spaced for receiving the another pair of diagonallyopposing second container corners.
 15. The storage system of claim 13,wherein: the support surfaces of the first pair of corner supports eachcomprise a one of a pair of support surfaces adapted to contact surfaceson different sides of a corresponding first container corner; and thesupport surfaces of the second pair of corner supports each comprise aone of a pair of support surfaces adapted to contact surfaces ondifferent sides of a corresponding second container corner.
 16. Thestorage system of claim 13, wherein the lid is formed of plastic. 17.The storage system of claim 15, wherein main surface of the lid issubstantially aperture-free.
 18. The storage system of claim 13, whereinthe first container comprises a plastic substantially rectangular bottomsurface and a plurality of plastic sidewalls extending from the bottomsurface, wherein at least one of the plastic bottom surface and theplurality of plastic sidewalls is aperture-free.
 19. The storage systemof claim 13, wherein the second container comprises a plasticsubstantially rectangular bottom surface and a plurality of plasticsidewalls extending from the bottom surface, wherein at least one of theplastic bottom surface and the plurality of plastic sidewalls isaperture-free.
 20. The storage system of claim 13, further comprising aperipheral sidewall extending from the main surface along the pairs ofopposing parallel edges and around the lid corners, wherein at least oneof the first and second pairs of corner supports are disposed adjacentthe peripheral sidewall at the diagonally opposing lid corners.
 21. Acontainer lid comprising: a generally rectangular main surface definedby a pair of diagonally opposed lid corners; a first support structuredisposed proximate one of a pair the diagonally opposed lid cornerscomprising: an inner support surface extending from the main surface bya first step; and an outer support surface spaced from the inner supportsurface and extending from the main surface by an additional secondstep; and a second support structure disposed proximate another one ofthe pair of diagonally opposed lid corners comprising: an inner supportsurface extending from the main surface by a first step; and an outersupport surface spaced from the inner support surface and extending fromthe main surface by an additional second step; and wherein the innersupport surfaces of the first and second support structures are spacedto receive diagonally opposed corners of a smaller container and theouter support surfaces of the first and second support structures arespaced to receive diagonally opposed corners of a larger container. 22.The container lid of claim 21, wherein the inner and outer supportsurfaces of the first and second support structures are spaced by alateral surface.
 23. The container lid of claim 21, further comprising asidewall extending from the main surface and around the periphery of thefirst lid corner adjacent to the first support structure and sidewallextending from the main surface and around the periphery of the secondlid corner adjacent the second support structure.
 24. The container lidof claim 21, wherein at least the main surface is composed of plastic.25. The container lid of claim 21, wherein at least the main surface isformed of extruded plastic.
 26. The container lid of claim 21, whereinthe first and second support structures are formed of plastic.